


the unplanned nature of holiday festivities

by WishingTree



Category: Runaways (TV 2017)
Genre: F/F, Fake/Pretend Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-21
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-17 21:57:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13086180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WishingTree/pseuds/WishingTree
Summary: “Seeing as you aren’t dating anyone, I don’t understand why this is a problem for you,” her mom tried to reason.“But – but I am!” Karolina spit out, grasping at the small life preserver her mother had unwittingly tossed out, “I am dating someone! So I can’t go to the party with Chad!”She froze as the words left her mouth, eyes wide and already regretting everything.This wasn't going to end well.In which Karolina Dean ends up in a fake relationship with Nico Minoru for Christmas, and surprisingly, it’s all her mother’s fault





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Imagine it’s loosely set sometime before they realize their parents are legit murderers but after they start hanging out again (so, you know, non canon timeline)

“By the way, make sure you’re ready for your father’s annual agency Christmas party,” her mother said out of the blue that evening, not looking up as she scrolled through her phone.

Karolina stilled where she was reaching for the bottle of juice in the back of the fridge. “What?”

They were at the Wilder’s for another Pride meeting, and Karolina had been looking forward to leaving her mom with the other parents and hanging out with her friends.

“The Christmas party?” Leslie Dean glanced up, “It’s next week.” 

Karolina pulled back and looked at her mom in disbelief. “I didn’t know about that, you never asked me if I was free! What if I had plans, you just expect me to cancel them?” 

“Karolina,” she said, lifting her head and regarding her sternly, “We are going. You will be ready at 8 o’clock next Friday, and that is the end of the discussion.” She sighed and spread her hands. “What will everyone think if we aren’t all there?”

Karolina exhaled, shoulders falling in disappointment. “Fine,” she muttered, squeezing her eyes shut and pressing her fingers to her forehead for a moment. “Fine, alright, whatever.” 

The party wouldn’t really be too bad, and at least she knew the food would be good. A couple hours of fake smiles and boredom, she could do that.

“Good,” her mom relaxed her shoulders and lifted her phone again. “Chad Tadson is going to be picking you up, so your father and I will meet you there.” 

Karolina’s head shot up and she froze from where she had been turning to rejoin the others in the next room. “No, please,” she said desperately, stumbling backwards to stay in front of her mom with her hands held out imploringly. “Please, Mom, don’t make me go to the party with _him_.” 

Chad was loud, and crass, and the smell of his body spray was overwhelming. Karolina could feel her skin crawling just thinking about it, and she suppressed a shudder. Their parents had set it up so he would escort her to an event last year, and she had hated every second of it. Her plan had been to never see him again after that night.

“Chad is a perfectly nice boy, Karolina,” her mom tried to reason, “Seeing as you aren’t dating anyone, I don’t understand why this would be a problem for you.”

“But – but I am!” Karolina spit out, grasping at the small life preserver her mother had unwittingly tossed out, “I – I am dating someone! So I can’t – go to the party with Chad!” She froze as the words left her mouth, eyes wide and already regretting everything. She definitely wasn’t dating anybody.

This wasn’t going to end well.

“Oh?” Her mother stopped and raised an eyebrow, “And who would that be? Why haven’t you told me about this?” 

“I – I was just – I mean, I didn’t…” Karolina fidgeted nervously as she cast her eyes around in desperation, hoping to find an answer hidden in the walls of the Wilder’s kitchen.

“Karolina, what do we say about lying?” her mother rolled her eyes.

“Mom, I’m not lying! I didn’t tell you about it because… because…” 

She must have had an extremely panicked look on her face, because her mother’s expression softened and she reached out to brush back a lock of hair from her face.

“Karolina, calm down, it’s alright. Now, you don’t have to tell me who you’re dating here if you’re not ready, but I expect to meet them at the party then, okay?” 

“I… okay,” Karolina said weakly, mustering up a tremulous smile when her mom nodded. “Yeah, so… okay.”

She turned away and moved mechanically across the room, despairingly trying to think up a way out of this situation. Thankfully her mother had let it drop for the time being, giving her time to find a fake date, but now she had to actually find a convincing one.

A soft touch on her arm startled her, and she jumped in surprise and whirled around.

“Nico?” she said, unable to stop the burgeoning panic from leaking into her voice.

Nico gave her an apologetic smile and hooked her thumb over her shoulder towards the open courtyard. “Hey, the others are already in the guest house, are you ready to – ” 

“Help me,” Karolina whispered, grabbing her arm, “I need to pretend to date somebody for my dad’s Christmas party. I kind of told my mom I was in a relationship, and if I don’t show up with someone I have to go with _Chad Tadson_ , and I will probably die if that happens, so I need your help – ”

“What? Karolina, slow down,” Nico said with a bemused look on her face, but she laid a comforting hand on Karolina’s forearm, and Karolina inhaled sharply at the contact. “Now, start over.”

“Okay," Karolina blew out a breath, "So I need to find a date for Friday, or my mom – ”

“Karolina,” her mom chose that moment to call out again, beckoning her over, “Can you come here for one more second? I just want to tell you something before you kids go off to the guest house for the night.”

“Sure, Mom,” Karolina drifted back over cautiously, shooting Nico one last desperate look over her shoulder. “What’s up?”

“You do know I love you, right honey? Unconditionally, as all mothers should, no matter what?” 

“Uh, yeah, thanks, Mom,” Karolina said, furrowing her brow in confusion. On a certain level she knew this, and she’d read this chapter of the Book of Gibborim. “Why, uh… any reason why you’re bringing it up now?”

“Just that – there should never be anything about yourself you’re afraid to tell me, and I’m looking forward to meeting your date at the party.” She nodded at Nico still waiting by the door. “And say hi to Nico for me.”

There was a strange inflection on the words, and seeing the look on her mom’s face, Karolina’s blood ran cold. She didn’t know what she said in answer to that, but her mom gave her a satisfied nod and pushed her gently back towards Nico.

“O–okay,” she managed to get out, eyes wide as she stumbled over her feet on the way. “Sure. Bye, Mom.”

Her mom smiled and moved towards the other adults, and Karolina ran the last couple of steps to Nico as soon as her back was turned.

“It’s you,” she hissed frantically, eyes wide and heart beating out of control, “She thinks I’m dating you!” 

God, she should have just said Alex from the beginning, or even Chase. Why hadn’t she thought of that? They would have both gone along with it no problem, not to mention that they were guys. Nico didn’t do anything unless she wanted to.

She swallowed thickly, throat closing up in panic. Nico was _Nico_ , and Nico was also… a girl. She was… _Nico_.

They had to pretend they were dating each other?

Before her mind could get any more muddled, it turned out she didn’t need to worry, because aside from her lips parting in surprise, Nico only rolled her eyes. “Look, if there’s one thing I understand, it’s overbearing parents, and if your mom has turned out to be half as psycho as mine, I’m not going to throw you under the bus in front of her.”

“You – you mean you’ll actually do it?” Karolina pulled back in surprise, blinking at her dumbly, and Nico shrugged.

“Sure, sounds like fun. I love messing with parents, and if it helps you out then all the better.” She nudged her with her elbow. “Besides, Chad Tadson? Sounds like a douche.”

That startled a surprised laugh out of Karolina, and she let her shoulders drop in relief. “Oh, you have no idea, he’s _awful_. I remember this one time – ”

Karolina’s mom coming back over to them interrupted her, Karolina jumping in fear when she appeared over her shoulder.

“Why don’t you two go join the others in the guest house and let us get our meeting started?”

“Sure, Mom. We were just going!” Karolina said brightly, wincing internally and hoping she didn’t pick up on how fake it was. Thankfully, she just nodded and patted them both on the shoulder before stepping back, and Karolina grabbed Nico’s arm and pulled her outside, taking her about halfway across the courtyard before slowing and hanging her head.

“I can’t believe this,” she groaned, closing her eyes and covering her face, “This is – this is all just – ”

“Hey, it’s okay,” Nico said soothingly, “We’ve got almost a whole week, and then after the party we can break up for your mom’s sake and things’ll go back to normal.”

“Right,” Karolina breathed out, dropping her hands. “Okay. We can do this.”

Nico nodded in satisfaction. “Exactly. Now come on. Apparently we’ve got a Christmas party to prepare for?” 

She gave Karolina a sideways smile, holding out her hand, and Karolina felt her heart flip into her throat. 

 _Shit_.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas and happy holidays everyone!

“So,” Nico started, leaning forward with her elbows resting on her knees as she cradled her coffee cup, “How do you want to do this?”

“I don’t know,” Karolina mumbled, nestling herself deeper into the worn material of the booth they’d chosen at Timely, “I didn’t exactly plan this out properly before I lied to my mom about dating somebody.”

“Come on, dude, we got this! I’ll be a great girlfriend,” she reached over and nudged Karolina’s knee, and Karolina took a deep breath.

“Okay, yes, we got this. It’s a boring adult party, right?” Karolina pondered as she played with her bracelet. “It’s not like they’ll be expecting much PDA or anything.” As she was saying this, she wasn’t sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing.

“Well, first thing’s first,” Nico said, nodding decisively. She pushed her coffee cup towards Karolina and then stood up, moving around the table to drop into the seat next to her. “We’re girlfriends now, right? Have to play the part.” She punctuated her words by looping her arm through Karolina’s and leaning into her side before picking up her coffee, and Karolina would have been embarrassed about how she froze up at the contact if she hadn’t been in the process of having a mild crisis over it.

“You’re a good fake girlfriend,” Karolina said shakily as she tried to laugh, partially to remind herself why Nico was acting like this as much as she was trying to alleviate the awkwardness.

Nico shot her a quick sideways grin. “Now, here’s the plan. We stick close to each other, have a great time. Maybe hold hands and stuff, and we’re set.”

They were interrupted by Karolina’s phone buzzing on the table, and Karolina reached out to swipe it open.

“My mom has been sending me these encouraging messages, I don’t really know what to do with them,” Karolina told Nico after reading her text, biting her lip as she stared down at the recent ones displayed on her phone screen. “I mean…” Her mind whirled, overwhelmed with uncertainty.

Karolina was suddenly enveloped in Nico’s arms, warm and steadying. “Hey, it’s going to be okay,” she soothed, rubbing her hand across Karolina’s back. She waited for Karolina to manage a couple of deep breaths before letting go. “Besides, you have absolutely nothing to worry about, I promise. Anyone gives you shit, I’ll take them out,” Nico promised, a fierce expression on her face.

Karolina nodded, wrapping her hands around her coffee cup just to have something to hold.

“Thanks, Nico,” she murmured, helpless to stop staring at her with what was most likely a sickeningly love-struck gaze.

“Listen, we just need to fool your parents. Easy. This is like, what we were born for.”

Karolina nodded again. Right. Easy.

In fact, it seemed like it was going to be too easy. That was the problem.

 

 

 

The week passed far too quickly for Karolina’s liking, and the next thing she knew they were arriving at the party together, decked out in dresses and heels. Many of the guests were already there, milling around inside and near the entryway, and Karolina stared at the open doors with wide eyes, unsure about what she was feeling.

“Shall we?” Nico tilted her head towards the doors, making it clear that she would follow Karolina’s lead.

Karolina exhaled shakily before raising her chin and holding out her arm for Nico to take. “Let’s do this thing.”

Cheery Christmas music was playing as they walked in, and they took in all the extravagant decorations. Nico leaned over to snag a candy cane from the first snack table they passed, immediately cracking it in two and sticking one end into her mouth.

“So what’s on the agenda for tonight?” she asked around the candy, “Are there speeches or something?”

“I – yeah, a couple. It’s mostly just socializing though,” Karolina said haltingly, distracted by the way the lights were playing off of Nico’s skin. Her eyes were shining in the low lighting, and Karolina swallowed.

“Well either way, it can’t be as bad as this WizTech party my mom made me go to once,” Nico mused, unaware of Karolina’s wandering attention. “I swear, it was just hours and hours of boring speeches, ugh, and everyone there was just…”

She continued talking, and Karolina squeezed her eyes shut as she tried not to think about whether or not Nico’s lips tasted like peppermint.

“Hello, girls,” her mother’s voice came from right behind them, and Karolina jumped, her eyes snapping open as she whirled around to face her.

“Mom!” she exclaimed nervously, “Hi!” She twisted her hands together when she gave her an expectant smile. “Mom, you know Nico,” Karolina waved a hand towards her awkwardly, “She’s also, um, here as my… girlfriend.”

A slow smile spread across her mom’s face. “Well I’m very happy for you two,” she inclined her head without even pretending to be surprised, eyes crinkling, “Nico, I insist that you come over for dinner sometime soon. Karolina – ”

A voice from the crowd called her name, somebody beckoning her over, and she glanced over her shoulder. “Unfortunately, I must be off to find your father right now,” her mom said, turning back and drawing her into a hug, “But I’m proud of you, honey.”

She was gone after that, and Karolina only realized how tensely she was holding herself when Nico laid a gentle hand on her shoulder.

“Hey,” she asked quietly, angling herself in front of Karolina to create a barrier between her and the rest of the room. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” Karolina took a deep breath and straightened, a relieved smile spreading across her face. “Yeah, I’m good.”

Nico nodded, staying silent and examining her with careful eyes, and then she held out her hand. “Candy cane?” she offered, wiggling the second half of the candy cane she had broken off in her direction.

Karolina laughed but accepted it, finally relaxing and letting some of her stress melt away. Her mom had been convinced, so now they had the rest of the night to just enjoy themselves, and she sighed happily, feeling her spirits finally lift from the worried pit they had been trapped in.

“You want to see how many Hollywood bigwigs we can spot?” Karolina nodded her head towards the crowd.

“Sure,” Nico said, slipping her hand into Karolina’s in a motion that was really beginning to feel far too natural to her, and Karolina just barely managed to avoid choking on the last piece of candy cane she had in her mouth.

Not a moment later she spotted Chad mingling with the other guests and hurriedly ducked her head, urgently pulling Nico in the other direction and ignoring her startled exclamation.

“Come on, hurry up, before he – ”

“Yo, Karolina!” Chad yelled loudly from halfway across the room, and Karolina cringed, stopping in her tracks.

“…Chad!” she greeted as enthusiastically as she could manage, a pained smile spreading across her face.

He smirked as he came up to her, crossing his arms haughtily and puffing up his chest. “So I heard you had a date this year, and I have to admit I was a little wounded, you know? I thought we had a thing going, you and me.”

Karolina tried to contain her grimace at his words. She had no idea how he could be so dense as to interpret the way she had acted as a mutual attraction with him, what with his smug attitude and constant entitlement.

Taking a deep breath, Karolina steadied herself, drawing comfort from the hand Nico had pressed to the small of her back. “This is my – ”

“Where is this guy?” He cut her off and made a show of glancing around, completely ignoring Nico standing at her side, and Karolina clenched her jaw. Her pulse began rushing in her ears, irritation overpowering the complicated mess of feelings she had regarding the entire situation, and she set her shoulders as it rushed over her and left a clarity behind in the stillness.

“My date is right here.”

She pulled Nico closer, leaving an arm wrapped around her waist, and she felt Nico wind her arm around hers in return.

Chad looked like he was about to laugh, but one glance at her steely expression caused him to pause. “What – you’re serious?” he gaped, “I – I didn’t – you’re – ”

“Okay, bye Chad!” she said brightly as he continued to stammer, spinning on her heel and pulling Nico away, and she saw Nico smirk at Chad before lacing their fingers together and following after her.

They weaved through the crowd, only slowing when they were on the other side of the room, and Karolina didn’t let go of Nico’s hand. They kept moving, silently agreeing to find a corner they could hide in, and Nico idly swung their hands between them.

“…Well, I was right. He’s a total douche,” she announced, and Karolina snorted.

“Trust me, I know. And that wasn’t even that bad for him. I’m _so_ glad I’m here with you instead,” she said sincerely, squeezing Nico’s hand.

Nico shot her a quick smile. “Me too. You know, I mentioned that I was coming as your date to my mom, and she was surprisingly supportive of it?” Nico shook some of her hair out of her face, shoulders lifting uncertainly, and Karolina tilted her head questioningly.

“Is that… a bad thing?” she asked tentatively, her mind already going through all the implications of that sentence. Nico regretted all of this. Nico didn’t regret this? Nico was so invested in a fake relationship that she told her mom about it? Nico was embarrassed her mom thought she was dating a girl. Nico was embarrassed her mom thought she was dating _Karolina_. She was never going to speak to her again. Karolina had made a massive mistake.

“No, it just… made me think of some stuff.” Nico shrugged. “Speaking of, come with me for a second,” she said, wrapping her hand around Karolina’s wrist and tugging her towards one of the halls that branched off from the main room.

“Why?”

Nico rolled her eyes. “Just trust me, would you?” She punctuated her words by poking insistently at Karolina’s shoulder, and Karolina let out a surprised giggle before holding up her free hand in surrender. “Alright, I’m coming, go ahead.”

She led the way down a quiet corridor, far enough away that they were alone but could still hear the muted sounds of the party. Her hair was starting to fall out of the artful twist it had been up in, and Karolina stared at the loose strands as she did her best not to trip over herself before Nico stopped and turned to face her.

“Okay, so, I just wanted to tell you…” she trailed off, and Karolina watched her curiously.

“What’s up?”

Nico didn’t answer, now focused on something else with her head tilted back, and Karolina blinked at her before following her gaze and stilling in shock.

Pinned to the doorjamb directly above their heads was an innocuous sprig of mistletoe.

Karolina’s eyes were wide when she snapped her gaze to Nico’s face and realized what she was looking at, her cheeks already reddening. She opened her mouth to tell Nico that they could ignore it, but faltered when she met her eyes, her panic abating in the face of the hesitant yet hopeful look in her eyes.

Her lips parted as she held her gaze, and barely breathing, she unconsciously inched closer. When Nico didn’t pull away, Karolina ducked her head down and tentatively pressed her lips against hers, her heart soaring.

When they finally broke apart, Karolina opened her eyes from where they had fallen shut, fervently hoping she had read the situation correctly.

“That’s – that’s kind of what I wanted to tell you,” Nico mumbled sheepishly, pushing a lock of hair behind her ear, and Karolina stared in amazement.

“Oh god. Really? I’ve wanted to do that for so long,” Karolina said, the rush of relief at the words making her feel a little lightheaded. She giddily threw her arms around Nico to pull her into a tight hug, and then leaned back so she could see her face.

“Nico,” she murmured softly, a breathless smile on her face, “Will you be my girlfriend for real this time?”

In answer, Nico went up on her tiptoes to wrap both arms around Karolina’s neck and pulled her back in for a kiss, both of them smiling the whole way.

 


End file.
